THE LEGACY @P^6E0R6EsW.*E
fSTUDENTS
PAGE.5,1
VOLUME 95, ISSUE 13 // JANUARY 23, 2009
THE GUILFORDIAN
GUILFORD COLLEGE // WWW.GUILFORDIAN.COM // G R E E N S B O R O . N C
Guilford
adjusting well
to economic
recession
By Joanna Bernstein
Staff Writer
Despite a $2.7 million cut in the
schoorsbudgetand theelimination of
20 faculty and staff positions because
of the current economic downturn,
President Kent Chabotar remains
confident, yet cautious about future
college operations.
Guilford's financial situation in
the wake of the economic downturn
is a mixed bag: while the school's
endowment has shrunk by nearly
29% between 2007 and 2008, overall
giving in terms of fundraising has
increased by 92% to $8 million since
July 1, 2008.
- "We're 'concerned (about biir^
situation and the economy), but
we're not immediately panicky,"
said Chabotar. "We're not seeing
spring semester's effects yet because
fundraising doesn't go down during
an economic crisis, and government
bailout money supports universities,
too."
Chabotar added that the school
is more concerned about next fall
and the fall of 2010, because the
effects of the drop in the market
endowment value will not be visible
until then. Thus, for the time being,
the school is focusing more on its
steady growth in enrollment.
While many chief economists
have warned colleges about possible
decreases in enrollment, applications
at Guilford are up for next year. The
admission office has had a specific
influx of applications from Virginia
and North Carolina.
According to the Chronicle of
Higher Education, many students
want to attend colleges either
in or closer to their hometowns
in order to save money on food,
living accommodations, and
transportation.
Even if traditional student
See "Recession" on page 4
"We're concerned (about
our situation and the
economy), but we're not
immediately panicky."
Kent Chabotar, president
COBWailK CHANGE
SEE 6BITEBSREJUI FOR MORE 60VERR6E
On Jan. 20,2009, millions of people descended
ON Washington, DC, to watch Barack Obama
TAKE THE OATH OF OFFICE. ABOVE A SEA OF JUBILANT
ONLOOKERS, ObAMA BECAME THE FIRST BLACK
PRESIDENT IN THE HISTORY OF THE U.S.
MLK Jr. Day: a
day for community
By Liz Farquhar
Staff Writer
"On MLK Jr. Day it's a day on, not
a day off," said Jada Drew, Interim
Africana Community Coordinator and
Guilford alum.
Because of its Quaker heritage,
Guilford College only has two
holidays off aside from Christmas
and Thanksgiving: Memorial Day and
Martin Luther King Jr. Day. According
to Drew, the school has had the holiday
off for at least the past six years, but
this year, the Career and Community
Learning Center and Multicultural
department devoted two weeks to
commemorate King through a variety
of activities.
The student turn out for the events in
past years has been subpar, according
to Drew, and some members of the
committee worry that the holiday has
become more centered around a day
off, rather than a day to appreciate and
engage.
"People in communities across the
nation come together to do service
work; that's what it's going to take
to make a change is for everyone to
come together, not just black or white,"
said Drew. "Since we get the day off
professors should help send students to
events as credit for class, or something
so more people get involved."
James Shields, director of the Bonner
center for Learning, shares Drew's
view that there are not enough students
See "MLK" on page 2
Community shows solidarity for peace in Gciza
STUDENT-LED PANEL
AND CANDLELIGHT
VIGILS DEMONSTRATE
SUPPORT FOR
SOLUTION IN
WAR-TORN REGION
By Meredith Jones
Staff Writer
"It's called ummah," said
first-year Madiha Bhatti,
describing the sense of
community at the Jan. 12
candlelight vigil for victims
of recent political strife in the
Gaza Strip.
"It's an Arabic word. It
means community, the feeling
that even if you don't know
these people on the other side
of the world, they are your
family, and it makes you sick
to know that they are being
hurt."
Traditionally ummah is
applied only to the Islamic
collective, but those who
participated in the vigil
represented members of many
avenues of belief, all of whom
stood united against violence.
Fliers and emails detailing
the event took great pains to
assure readers that it was "not
in any way, shape, or form...
political. Region and religion
should have no bearing in this
issue."
An issue it certainly is. The
mbst recent CNN estimate of
the dea|:h toll in the Gaza Strip
places the number at 1,100.
Thirteen Israelis have also been
confirmed dead in the wake of
the attacks. Though a tentative
cease-fire was enacted on Jan.
17, Gaza residents still have no
access to outside health care,
food, or water supplies.
The peace vigil officially
began at 6 p.m., but
participants arrived as early
as 5:30, bringing candles that
ranged in style from votive
to scented and carved. Each
new addition lined up silently
beside the next, forming a line
of lights that stretched down
the sidewalk of Friendly Ave.
The Jan. 12 vigil was not
the only event recognizing the
violence in Gaza.
A student-led panel was
held on Jan. 15 at 7 p.m. in the
Founders Gallery. The room
filled quickly with an estimated
50 people.
Dana Ham dan, vice
See "Gaza" on page 4
Seniors Sam Sklover and Susannah
Goodman react to a fellow student’s
question at the Palestinian panel on Jan. 15.